Clarity Testing Services Blog

"Bath salts" are a category of new designer drugs that are marketed as a bath product but are actually used by recreational drug users to get high. New legislation banning "bath salts" is has just cleared the New Jersey Senate Committee and appears to be on its way to the Governor of New Jersey for signing.

These so-called "bath salts" are currently sold legally in convenience stores, head shops, and even gas stations. They are used by recreational drug users and abusers as a relatively cheap and legal alternative to methamphetamine and cocaine. While these designer drugs are most commonly known as "bath salts," other enterprising merchants are offering them as "plant food" or "research chemicals" to circumvent the law. Many carry labeling that they are not for human consumption, which further increases the difficulty of controlling them.

The New Jersey law has been nicknamed Pamela's Law after a Rutgers University study, Pamela Schmidt, who was murdered by her boyfriend, William J. Parisio who was allegedly under the influence of "bath salts" purchased legally from a convenience store. These designer drugs affect the body similarly to methamphetamine and can cause chest pains, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia, suicidal thoughts and delusions. Pamela's Law is an attempt to recognize that these new substances are actually dangerous drugs and the attempt to sell them as bath products, plant food, or other harmless substances is deceptive.

Under the proposed law, it would become a crime of the third degree to possess, manufacture, or distribute products containing the ingredients in these "bath salts." These ingredients are:

• 4-methylmethcathinone (mephedrone, 4-MMC)
• 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV)
• 3,4-methylenedioxymethcathinone (methylone, MDMC)
• 4-methoxymethcathinone (methedrone, bk-PMMA, PMMC)
• 3-fluoromethcathinone (3-FMC)
• 4-fluoromethcathinone (flephedrone, 4-FMC).

In New Jersey, third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

The NJ Attorney General has already banned these substances, but the order is only in effect for 270 days. Passage of the law would make the ban permanent.

If the bill is passes, New Jersey would join Florida, Louisiana and North Dakota in criminalizing "bath salts". "Bath salts" are also illegal in European Union, Australia, Canada, and Israel.

References:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/nj_moves_closer_to_criminalizi.html

http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2011/06/bill_would_crack_down_on_bath.html

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/03/rutgers_student_accused_of_kil.html

http://www.politickernj.com/48130/girgenti-legislation-establishing-pamelas-law-clears-senate-committee

This entry was posted on August 17, 2011 at 2:20 PM and has received 118 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

A new group of designer drugs is causing great concern among law enforcement and health professionals. These drugs are being marketed as bath salts, but they have nothing in common with the product people sprinkle into a warm bath. The names "bath salts," "research chemicals," and "plant food" are being used to circumvent the law along with labeling stating the product is "not for human consumption." In reality, these substances are being used as substitutes for amphetamines and cocaine and are ingested by injection or snorting.

They are found in head shops, convenience stores, gas stations and, of course, on the internet under various brand names such as

• Arctic Blast
• Bloom
• Blue Magic
• Bolivian Bath, Bubbles
• Cloud 10
• Dynamite
• Energizing Aromatherapy Powder
• Euphoria
• Gold Rush
• Hurricane Charlie
• Ivory Wave
• Ivory Wave Ultra
• Lady Bubbles
• Lunar Wavw
• Mr. Nice Guy
• Meow Meow
• Ocean Snow
• Pure White
• Red Dove
• Route 69
• Scarface
• Snow Day
• Tranquility
• Vanilla Sky
• White China
• White Dove
• White Girls
• White Horse
• White Knight
• White Lightning
• White Rush
• Wicked X or Wicked XX
• Zombie Apocalypse
• Zoom

Their use is spreading and so are the dangers. Over 251 bath-salts-related calls were made to poison control centers in the first two months of 2011 alone. This exceeds the number of such calls made in all of 2010 (236 total). Adding to the problem is the fact that neither bath salts nor their ingredients are scheduled controlled substances on the federal level, although several states are now banning them. New Jersey is one of the latest states to do so. Legislation to outlaw these drugs has been proposed in Congress.

The ingredients in bath salts belong to a class known as synthetic cathinones. They are:

• MDPV synonym 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone
• Mephedrone synonyms 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-MMC
• Methylone synonyms 3,4-methylenedioxymethcathinone, MDMC
• Naphyrone synonyms napthylpyrovalerone, NRG-1
• 4-Fluoromethcathinone synonyms 4-FMC, flephedrone
• 3-Fluoromethcathinone synonym 3-FMC
• Methedrone synonyms 4-methoxymethcathinone, bk-PMMA, PMMC
• Butylone synonyms bk-MBDB, beta-keto-N-methylbenzodioxolylpropylamine

Bath salts affect the body similarly to methamphetamine and can cause chest pains, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia, and delusions.

These products have been available in Europe for some time. European reports indicate that people who use these products develop the same intense cravings and addictions as those who use methamphetamines.

So far U.S. law has not caught up to bath salts and it is proving a challenge to law enforcement, parents and poison control.

References:

http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs43/43474/sw0007p.pdf

http://www.forensicmag.com/news/bath-salts-latest-synthetic-drug-challenge

http://info.publicintelligence.net/EPIC-BathSalts.pdf

http://articles.philly.com/2011-04-28/news/29483231_1_bath-salts-designer-drugs-bath-water

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/nj_bans_six_chemicals_used_to.html

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/six_chemicals_used_to_make_bat.html

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/alternate-names-bath-salt-drug

http://www.nida.nih.gov/about/welcome/MessageBathSalts211.html

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6019a6.htm

This entry was posted on August 17, 2011 at 2:16 PM and has received 209 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

In 2010 more than 2,000 meth labs were seized is Tennessee, which is more than were seized in any other state in the US.

Methamphetamine (sometimes called meth, crystal meth, or ice) is a highly addictive drug that stimulates the nervous system. While the majority of the world's meth is manufactured in large-scale illegal labs, there are still many individuals cooking up small batches of the drug in unstable home-based labs. Apart from the drugs they produce, these kitchen labs can be toxic. Fumes created from a meth lab can be dangerous to those nearby. Chemicals used in creating meth are often highly flammable and volatile. Fires and explosions are not uncommon.

Earlier this week, Tennessee's Governor Bill Haslam signed the I Hate Meth Bill into law. "Hopefully, we can start changing the tide against what has for too long been too bad of a problem in East Tennessee," Gov. Haslam said. The new law is designed to help law enforcement fight the use and the making of meth within the state of Tennessee.

Though some members of law enforcement wanted the new law to be tougher by requiring prescriptions for drugs containing pseudoephedrine now sold over-the-counter, David Rausch, Chief of Police in Knoxville said this law "is a good start to addressing the issue." Many common over-the-counter medications contain pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient used in manufacturing methamphetamine. Individuals may still purchase over-the-counter products containing pseudoephedrine, but have to show identification and complete specific paperwork. Purchases of pseuoephedrine-containing products are also limited in that an individual may buy only small amounts at any one time.

Since 2005 Tennessee has tracked purchases of pseudoephedrine. Now the new law will require pharmacies to report pseudoephedrine sales in real-time using a privately maintained database. Some drugstore chains such as Walgreens and CVS already subscribe to the system. The law took effect on July 1, 2011. All of the pharmacies in Tennessee are now legally required to tie into the system by January 2012. Said Tommy Farmer, director of the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, "We now have mandatory electronic reporting by all pharmacies,"

The I Hate Meth Law will also provide for easier prosecution of those who "smurf" or buy pseudoephedrine products at various times and places, sometimes using false identification in order to amass enough of the drug to manufacture meth.

Another provision of the new law increases penalties and makes it easier to prosecute those who make meth in the presence of children.

"Hopefully this sends a message, but really acts on the problem," Haslam said. "If you're one of the bad guys out there we will find you. We've made it easier for law enforcement to track you and find you and the penalties are stiffer."

References:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/jun/07/start-changing-the-tide/

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/172063/2/Haslam-signs-anti-meth-bill-into-law

http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/facts/drugsmeth/

www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/methamphetamine.html

This entry was posted on July 25, 2011 at 7:22 PM and has received 213 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.